Striking Bolivian miners 'kill deputy minister'

Striking miners in Bolivia have kidnapped and beaten to death the country's deputy interior minister after he travelled to the area to mediate in the bitter conflict, government colleagues have said.

Interior minister Carlos Romero called it a "cowardly and brutal killing" and asked that the miners turn over the body of his deputy, Rodolfo Illanes, who holds the formal title of vice minister of the interior regime.